Midweek Moment

As I sit and ponder this week, and everything it means, I have had one goal in mind. I have wanted to be open. I have wanted to be fluid. I have wanted to be flexible to go in whatever direction the Holy Spirit would lead me. This has been a very challenging, but extremely interesting endeavor.

My mind has gone in numerous directions. The words, thoughts, and feelings that have coursed through my soul have covered a wide spectrum. I have read, I have prayed, I have meditated, I have sat outside, I have sat in quiet silence trying to listen. I have even taken to sketching this week, as a means to process what I am experiencing. However, as diverse as these thoughts have been, as varied as my methods have been, there has been one foundational aspect to all of them; intimacy.

Even now as I sit here and type this reflection, that feeling of intimacy is strong, and actually familiar. Right now, I am remembering, very vividly, actually sitting in the Garden of Gethsemane, just across the Kidron Valley from the old city of Jerusalem, at the foot of the Mount of Olives. It was the middle of the day and I sat on the ground, in the shade offered by this particularly gnarled olive tree. (In fact, I have a piece of that tree in my office today.) I can recall sitting there, just soaking up the experience of being in Jerusalem, being in a sacred place, a place where my Savior walked, and maybe even sharing some of the same shade, from the same tree he sat under. That day was just over three years ago now, and the feelings of intimacy I have been feeling this week are the same as those I felt that day.

Everything Jesus did in his earthly existence was done for his Father's creation. The lessons he taught, are for us. The miracles he performed, are for us. The emotions he felt, are for us. The life he lived, is for us. The life he laid down, is for us. The death he conquered, is for us. The love he gave, is for us. The relationship he now offers, is for us. Jesus did not come into this world to condemn it, but to save it. Jesus did not come into this world, to offer some blanket style of redemption. It was all personal. It was all intimate.

Jesus died for you specifically. Jesus died for me specifically. He knew our names, before we even existed. Everything he did on Earth, was done so that we, as individuals, might experience eternal life in his presence. It was done so that Daryl Allen might experience eternal life in the presence of Jesus Christ. It was done so that you might experience eternal life in the presence of Jesus Christ. This is personal. This is intimate.

This week, remember that. I pray that you feel that intimacy, that you are moved by that intimacy, and that you are transformed by that intimacy.

May your Holy Week be special and one you never forget!